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By: Matt Tuckness
It was another thing of beauty tonight for the Golden State Warriors; pure domination in all facets of the game with a 113-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Good teams take care of business against inferior teams. This season the Warriors have done that in a commanding fashion. All five of the Warriors wins this season have been by double digits (except the Kings game which was a 9 point win, close enough).
It was great to see them rebound after a tough loss to Memphis where they ran out of gas in the second half. The Warriors offense finally returned in full force tonight after a two game hiatus. The team shot 60% from the field and 50% from 3 even with the bench playing the majority of the fourth quarter. The defense also had a very solid game holding the Pistons to a lowly 42.5% from the field.
What immediately stuck out to me on the offensive end was the Warriors activity and energy with and without the ball. Steph Curry looked like his old self aggressively attacking on pick and rolls and running the baseline through multiple screens for the open three. It looks as though that ankle is no longer bothering him. He finished the night with 25 points and 8 assists. Andre Iguodala also had a very solid night for the Warriors in his new found point forward role. He led the team in assists with 11 adding 8 points and a couple of steals.
These two are really developing a great chemistry with each other and with their teammates. Iguo doesn’t fill the stat sheet every night, but his value to this Warriors team is so much more. Steph is an excellent ball handler but his true strength is scoring. With Iguo’s increased ball handling responsibilities it allows for Steph to play off the ball to be set up for open threes through off ball screens or Iguo penetration. The more these two play together the more dangerous the Warriors offense becomes.
I have always made sure I dedicate a paragraph of my writing to what the Warriors need to work on. I have decided to just call it Matt’s home improvements because this is my team, this is my home and these are my proposed improvements. It avoids any awkward transitions and allows me to feel like a legit writer (even though I’m not) because I have my own gimmick. This is a beta test so we will see how it works out.
Matt’s Home Improvements
1. The Pistons are not a good basketball team. I was disappointed because I thought with their additions of Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith would lead to a quality opponent, but they do not know how to play together. There were very long stretches during the second and third quarter where the Pistons did not run an offensive set. That makes it pretty easy to play defense. Also the Pistons had a horrible habit of doubling ANYBODY who caught the ball on the block. This allowed the Warriors some easy passing lanes. It is important not to overreact to this victory. We can start getting really excited about this team’s potential once they beat a good team in this manner. Don’t worry it will happen, but the team just isn’t there yet.
2. Once again the Warriors had too many turnovers and allowed too many second chance opportunities. The Pistons weren’t able to capitalize (see above paragraph), but a good team will. Tonight the Warriors accumulated a total of 23 turnovers and allowed the Pistons 16 offensive rebounds. That led to 17 more shots for the Pistons. This has been a problem for the Warriors all season and will continue to be a point of focus on their road to the ship.
3. Finally the second group and Harrison Barnes looked better, but I am starting to have some serious concerns about how Barnes is going to fit with this second group. Mark Jackson is asking Barnes to be the primary scorer and create offense for the second unit. I am not sure he will be capable of that against better second units and defenses. Harrison Barnes is a solid role player but has never shown the ability, in college of the NBA, to create his own shot. He may be the most important player to watch for the Warriors this season. Their benches offensive success rides on his shoulders. If he does not progress the way the Warriors need him to then there may be some issues come playoff time.
Player highlights
David Lee finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds and Klay Thompson had 14 points to provide solid performances for the Warriors. Jermaine O’Neal also added a surprising 17 points on 8-9 shooting. The Toney Douglas injury is a significant one for the Warriors who saw Kent Bazemore try and run the point for the second unit. Hopefully, he will come back soon, so I do not have to see that anymore.
For the Pistons Andre Drummond had a solid night with 16 points and 14 rebounds highlighting a rather unimpressive Pistons team.
